He was a tight man. Everything about him was close and quiet; his gestures were short and clean, with no wasted movement. His eyes were bright and hard, the kind of blue you might see in the sky at high noon, if you looked straight up at the sky; almost white, but still pale, pale blue. He had dark yellowish circles under his eyes that rested on his cheekbones where the skin was drawn tight, as if he might have liver trouble from too much drinking, but he was physically sound and the circles came from playing stud poker all day and all night for many years. He had been playing in the back room of Hoban’s Pool Room and Poker Parlor since Monday at 4 p.m. It had started out as fooling around and then, as happened so many times, it developed into a game. The others began to drop in and a gig was working. It was nickel-and-dime stuff as long as it was The Kid and The Shooter and Pig, but when Carey and Carmody came in, both of whom bet the Cardinals and had won nicely over the weekend double-header, the play moved, deceptively, from nickel-and-dime to a quarter and a half and then wide open. It was Wednesday now, eleven in the morning. The game, like an endlessly circling bird, moved with a slow inexorable pace toward the center pot of money that grew magically with each dealt hand; revolving hands of cards, accompanied with a musical comment of silver upon silver tossed into the center of the table as the chant was heard, so soft as to be a litany calling on ghostly assistance and deliverance. “Queens bet.” “A half.” “In.” “Kicking it a half.” “And another half.” “And a half more.” “Buck and a half to me, and a half more.” The ritual quickened. It was the fourth card. Now the whisper and flutter of paper money would wash into the middle of the table. Someone dealt. The cards sliced through the smoky airless room like silent stealing death. And with each card, face up, a chant of destiny from the dealer, for he was the sole instrument in the life of a rambling-gambling man, bringing face up for all the world to see the next wonderful secret. There is nothing more for the gambling man. It is all there, sealed in the narrow turn of the next card. “A five to the queens, a jack to the possible, a nothing to the fours, an ace to the kicker, and the Gun shoots himself a red ten. Still queens.” “Queens check.” The raiser came back with a touch, a breath, feeling his way into those checking queens like a man fumbling in the dark. He touched it and then the queens slammed down hard on him. “Twenty dollars.” It was the clap of doom. Three players dropped out and it was back to the raiser. He hesitated. He knew three fours could not beat three queens. And to make sure (though there was another card coming and another chance) there were three queens, it would cost him twenty dollars. Pig had the fours. The Kid had the queens. They looked at each other’s cards. They were past the point as rambling-gambling men where they could play each other’s faces. Pig played the cards. There was no hope in playing The Kid. And it was not worth twenty dollars to see if The Kid was bluffing. He folded. The Shooter gathered up the cards and began to shuffle. In his huge hands the cards were like summer moths around a light, fluttering, singing, tightening and then disappearing as he cut them and rippled them again. The Shooter was acknowledged as the best man with cards along the Mississippi and west to Vegas. He looked over at The Kid who was stacking his half dollars. “They say Lancey is in town,” he said softly.

    Cat Brules, whose life embraces the short, turbulent history of the American West, seeks revenge against the entire Comanche nation, finds love with a Shoshone woman, and must chose between becoming an outlaw or a hero.

    Do angels really exist? Can we call upon them when we need them? What do they look like? Why are they here? With more than 60 years experience as a psychic - 20 of which have been spent studying angels - the author answers these and other often-asked questions.

    Full color.

    John answers your most often-asked questions about how the mediumship process works on the “other side,” while taking you on the inside of his own personal life as a husband and new father. He shares what he’s learned through his own recent, personal losses and demonstrates that you’re never too late to forgive—and never too far away to love.               In After Life, as he does on his highly rated hit show, Crossing Over with John Edward, John will also connect you with celebrities both here and on the other side—because, as John happily notes, there are no red-velvet ropes or VIP sections over there!

     Clear color photographs, along with useful charts, diagrams and grids combine with complete instructions. Special features such as a chart on using crystals for specific ailments make this portable volume a terrific addition to your purse or bed table.

    The tools that Gabriela Herstik offers in Bewitching the Elements will help you connect to the universe and your inner light.Through earth, learn how to ground and create compassionate boundaries.Through air, harness the breath, balance the body, and find presence in the moment.Through fire, embody passion, burning away what no longer serves you, and learn to constructively work with anger.Through water, explore your emotional depths and come back to the heart.Through spirit, connect to your own sense of power, embracing all of the lessons of the elements.Committing to a path that serves our authentic selves is a radical act. When we do this work alongside nature, by turning to the elements, we find a map back to our intuitive and energetic wisdom.

    She can’t lie, swear, drink, or tell anyone about her secret which has led to her non-existent dating life. Being an angel is everything to her and she won’t risk it for anything or anyone.Enter playboy food critic with a chip on his shoulder, Destin Waters, who leaves a review of her bakery that the perfectionist baker just can’t accept.Her baked goods may not be his heart’s desire, but Sera sure is, and he’s not going to just go away. After he reveals a not-so-hidden secret, every defense she’d built up for the past twelve years disappears and she tumbles head over wings for him.Being with Destin makes her question everything about herself, shaking her very being. It’s just a matter of time before all hell breaks loose, threatening everything she is and holds dear.

    The 5,000-year-old Chinese book of wisdom, presented in a unique work-book format designed to help truth-seekers find new meaning and enlightenment in its ancient lore.

    Start with personal day and year cards, and learn how to relate Tarot to your own interests, in order to find specific blind spots and personal resistances, as well as how to look for new chances and unexpected directions. Then you progress to the larger and theme cards, and learn to interpret networks of cards and also "to view every card as a world by itself." You'll become acquainted with the Cycle of the Year (with 20 major layouts) and with the practice of Tarot and astrology, using the respected Golden Dawn System developed by Arthur A. Waite and Alistair Crowley. Soon you'll appreciate the variety and creativity inherent in Tarot, to see the cards as a mirror of yourself, and to discover what the authors mean when they say that "being lucky has nothing to do with luck." 192 pages, 114 b/w illus., 6 x 9.

    In order to decipher the true meaning of these symbols, the student must approach the Tarot with an open mind and an open spirit.This new approach to the study of the Tarot provides a clear but profound method of exploring and discovering your own inner depths, a necessary prerequisite to a thorough understanding of the ancient symbols. In addition, this handbook relates the Tarot to other occult sciences such as astrology, the cabala, and numerology. Here you will find basic lessons and exercises, procedures, and fundamental esoteric philosophy which will open up new dimensions to the inquiring mind, and allow you to fully comprehend the tarot and its powers of enlightenment and divination.

     For the best reading experience and to avoid spoilers, it's recommended to begin with box-set #1 which contains book 1-5. Enjoy five very different stories that will have you turning pages all night long. #6 The Genius With three degrees and the highest measured IQ in the Motherlands, Shelly Summers knows that she’s socially awkward. It doesn’t bother her since as the head engineer for Advances Technologies she has little time for social interactions anyway. When she learns that one of the testers for the sex-bots her company manufactures is her old crush, Marco, she’s curious to see if he’ll recognize her now that she’s ten years older and no longer has bushy eyebrows and a bad case of acne. A normal person would have said something when Marco doesn’t recognize her from his past. A normal person would definitely have said something when he mistakes her for an advanced sex robot and thinks his job is to do a test run. Things are about to get very awkward for this genius… #7 The Dancer Sometimes the purest love can turn to the deepest hate. I was twelve when I promised Solo that I would one day marry him. Maybe I would have if he hadn’t gotten impatient and ruined everything that summer when I was fifteen. For the last seven years I’ve replaced the love I once felt for him with anger over his almost getting me killed. Willow, a talented Motlander dancer, goes on tour in the Northlands. What should have been a chance for a new beginning brings her face to face with her traumatic past when Solo, a mountain of a man and the fiercest warrior of his generation, is put in charge of her safety against her will. If she can’t get rid of him at least she can return the favor and make his job a nightmare too. #8 The Athlete How do you win a soccer game when you dont even want to be on the team? When Hunter Hercules, the biggest soccer star in the Northlands, is transferred to play in the Motherlands, he’s mad as hell. Not only is their style of soccer different, but they have mixed teams and his female captain, Emanuela, calls him unsophisticated and claims that she’s a better player than him. What a fucking joke! Someone should have warned her not to mess with an Nman. #9 The Fighter I've lived half of my life on each side of the border. I know what greatness women are capable of and how amazing men can be. For those Nmen who think I can't be a police officer because I'm a "fragile female," I have only one thing to say; watch me! Raven is a force of nature who won't take no for an answer. She uses her humor and feistiness to blaze through every obstacle, and right now the biggest one is her rigid boss Leo Da Vinci. Leo wants her to stay safe in an office categorizing unsolved cases, but Raven is longing for action. That's why when one case turns out to be the unsolved murder case of Dina, the ruler's sister who died when she was fifteen, Raven sets out to solve the mystery and bring the murderer to justice. Little does she know that coming face to face with the troubled past of the Northlands might set off an unwanted avalanche of events and endanger the lives of herself and the people she loves. #10 The Pacifist A promise is a promise but this promise is one I should have never made. Mila, a sweet pacifist born in the Motherlands, has avoided conflicts all her life.

    Each card represents aspects of the self, symbolized by sacred figures and concepts that are integral to yoga and Ayurveda. Illustrated by beautiful, original artwork, the cards provide insight into the present and guidance for the future, unlocking a deeper understanding of self and the energies that flow through us. The accompanying guide provides complete descriptions of each card as well as suggestions for working with the deck, allowing you to uncover sacred meanings and receive cosmic intuition from the universe. A Yogic Path Oracle Deck and Guide includes:- Foil-embellished keepsake box with magnetic closure and lifting ribbon- 54 full-colour cards in a lift-top box- 128-page full-colour guidebook

    A Swedish Enlightenment scientist of extraordinary accomplishment, Swedenborg underwent a spiritual crisis that led to an unparalleled series of paranormal experiences. He spent his last twenty-seven years in almost daily experience of heaven and hell, recording his observations and conversations, many of which are reported in Heaven and Hell. This sustained and detailed description of the nonphysical realms has left its impression on the minds of many great thinkers, including Goethe, Blake, Coleridge, Emerson, Borges, and Milosz.This deluxe edition contains an introduction by religious historian Bernhard Lang setting the volume in the context of its time.The New Century Edition of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg is a modern-language, scholarly translation of Swedenborg’s theological works. The series’ easy-to-read style retains the dignity, variety, clarity, and gender-inclusive language of Swedenborg’s original Latin, bringing his thought to life. Introductions and annotations by eminent, international scholars place Swedenborg’s writings in their historical context and illuminate obscure references within the text, enabling readers to understand and trace Swedenborg’s influence as never before.

    Presenting witchcraft practices and meaningful encounters with plants and animals, The Green Witch Tarot lets you open a channel between the reader and the spiritual beings of nature. Beautifully illustrated by Kiri Østergaard Leonard and accompanied by a comprehensive guidebook for easy interpretation, this deck is full of powerful symbols and energetic wisdom you can use to find the answers you seek.